The air in the arena felt heavy as the aftermath of Boliver's outburst lingered. Sullivan himself had escorted the unconscious Boliver away, his face a mask of grim. The once-vibrant crowd whispered uneasily, their excitement tempered by fear and curiosity.
In the infirmary, Grande Silvus stood by her daughter Zinni's bedside, her heart breaking as she saw the toll the battle had given her daughter. Zinni, despite her powerful Conversion trait, had been pushed to the brink of death, her mana reserves and life force nearly drained to nothing, had it not been for Ray breaking the spell, even before the spikes killed her, she would have died by being drained out her life.
The healer's assurances of Zinni's recovery were a small comfort, but Grande couldn't shake her regret.
'All my power... all my experience... and yet, I couldn't save her'.
The memory of Ray stepping in at the last second burned in her mind. His calm demeanor, his overwhelming strength, had it not been for him, She would have lost her daughter. Returning to her seat, Grande's gaze softened as it fell on the young man. She felt both gratitude and curiosity toward Ray, though she held herself back, recalling his sharp dismissal of Dravis earlier.
The arena gradually returned to its usual energy, the crowd settling as the announcer called for the next match.
"In the next bout," Myra's voice echoed,
"We have Lily Dragonborne versus Ray."
A wave of anticipation surged through the audience. On one side of the arena, Lily stepped forward, her twin swords gleaming under the sunlight. Her golden eyes burned with focus. On the other side stood Ray, hands casually in his pockets, exuding his usual air of unshakable confidence.
As the pair faced each other, Lily broke the silence.
"This isn't going to be like how our spar played out, Ray." Her voice was steady, her grip tightening on her swords.
"I'll attack with everything I've got. Don't take it easy."
Ray's lips curved into a faint smile as he tilted his head.
"Don't worry, I wasn't planning to. But—" He paused, turning inward as Luna's voice chimed in his mind.
[Ray, stop joking around, She's serious this time. Something's different, you can feel it, can't you?] she said, her tone sharp.
Ray sighed internally but nodded.
"Aye, aye, ma'am. I'm not a fool." Out loud, he added,
"Alright, Lily. You'll get more of a fight from me this time. I'll even use my sword." With a grin, he added,
"Don't make me regret it."
Lily rolled her shoulders, her intense focus unshaken. The crowd murmured in anticipation as Ray removed his mask, revealing his strikingly handsome face, which caught the attention of many. He summoned a standard steel sword into his hand, a weapon issued for practice. The simple weapon materialized out of thin air, causing a ripple of reactions.
Dravis narrowed his eyes, his fingers digging into the armrests of his chair.
'Does he think so little of Lily?' he thought, suppressing his anger as he felt Ray was looking down on his daughter and Dragonborne family, hurting his pride.
Meanwhile, Grande and Sullivan exchanged curious glances. Both Archmages, intrigued by Ray's casual summoning of the blade, were silently analyzing the process. Even Lily, who had grown accustomed to Ray's unpredictability, found herself shaking her head at the constant surprises he brought.
Myra raised her hand. "Begin!"
Lily launched forward with a roar, her black and white swords cutting through the air. Ray met her advance with a calm parry, his movements almost lazy yet precise. She swung her tiger sword toward his torso, while the black sword sliced diagonally at his chest.
Ray sidestepped, catching the black blade mid-strike with his bare hand. He dragged Lily closer, leaning in to whisper,
"You're better than this, Lily. Think."
Flustered but gaining her composure, Lily leaped back, taking a deep breath.
'Focus, Focus..' she thought, re-centering herself. She surged forward again, this time unleashing a flurry of attacks, her light and dark energies swirling around her blades.
Ray countered every strike with ease, his temporal cognition allowing him to predict her moves before she made them. The crowd watched in awe as he deflected energy-coated attacks with nothing but a practice sword, his fluid wrist movements dissipating the impact of her blows.
Finally, after a particularly strong clash, the steel sword in Ray's hand shattered into pieces. Without hesitation, Ray crossed his arms, waiting for Lily's next move.
Lily, frustrated but undeterred, took a step back. Her breathing steadied as she gathered her thoughts. Then something shifted. A new energy stirred within her, the energy of darkness and light started gathering at her heart, forming a whirlpool, a golden pillar of light started falling on her from the sky, flame like....energy...ignited in her core.
Her light and dark energies, once at odds, began merging, creating an ashen hue that radiated danger. The crowd gasped as the flames spread, coating her swords and forming around her body.
From the VIP section, Dravis suddenly stood, his face breaking into a proud smile for the first time. "She's awakened her trait," he said softly.
Grande's eyes widened. "That energy… It's unlike anything I've seen," she murmured.
Sullivan nodded gravely. "It's dangerous. Anything that comes into contact with it could be reduced to nothing."
In the arena, Lily's transformation was complete. Her twin blades now burned with ashen flames, one dark, one light. Around her neck and eyes, the energy formed a living, flickering aura, making her appear like a mythical warrior of old.
Ray's eyes sparkled with intrigue as he observed her. Luna chimed in.
[That's no ordinary energy. It's primal, lost in time...]
Ray cast a water ball spell, sending it toward Lily as a test. She sliced through it easily, but Ray noted the delay in the energy's effect.
It burns physical objects instantly, but it takes longer to disrupt energy-based attacks.
Meanwhile, the VIP spectators turned to Sullivan and Myra, demanding answers about Ray's spellcasting. Sullivan raised his hand, calming them.
"All will be explained after the tournament."
Lily charged forward, her ashen energy radiating heat and power.
"Dragonborne Style, First Form: Solar Slash!" she shouted. Her attack split into two, the first, a blazing sphere of energy, and the second, a crescent slash that propelled the sphere forward with terrifying speed.
Ray, unfazed, summoned a sword of raw mana, its greenish-blue hue, which normal people has blue mana, had their mouth open, seeing different-looking mana around this lad, shimmering brilliantly.
With breathtaking speed, he moved, cutting through Lily's attack thirty-two times in a single second. The fragments of the attack dissipated harmlessly, leaving the crowd in stunned silence.
But Lily wasn't done. Her golden eyes locked on Ray with renewed determination. She raised her swords once more, shouting,
"Dragonborne Style, Seventh Form: Dawn!"
The arena fell silent as Lily's next attack hurtled toward Ray, a fusion of primal energy, Ashen flames, its destructive force threatening to consume everything in its path.